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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead innovative paid search strategies and drive client growth in a dynamic digital marketing agency.
- Company: Join a multi-award-winning agency known for its collaborative and inclusive culture.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, private medical insurance, and generous leave policies.
- Why this job: Make a real impact with your expertise while growing your career in a supportive environment.
- Qualifications: Proven leadership in paid media and a passion for strategic innovation.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team committed to personal and professional development.
The predicted salary is between 50900 - 56900 £ per year.
Impression Digital is a multi-award winning, high growth digital marketing agency based in Nottingham, London and Manchester. Our agency wouldn’t be what it is today without our incredible people. Our diverse team encompasses expertise across the digital landscape which enables us to accelerate change and results, driving business growth faster. Our collaborative, creative and inclusive culture helps build our reputation as a leading digital employer and we are committed to nurturing and developing people to their full potential.
We are seeking an ambitious, enthusiastic, and highly experienced Paid Search leader to join our multi-award-winning agency. This pivotal role is a direct support to the Head of PPC and is responsible for a portfolio of flagship client accounts.
Who are you?
- Innovation: You proactively challenge established best practices and legacy processes, designing new, evidence-based methodologies that unlock performance gains where standard tactics have plateaued.
- Commercial Storytelling: You go beyond simply defining strategy; you expertly structure complex data and multi-channel insights into a persuasive story that links technical execution directly to the client’s bottom line.
- Adaptive Resilience: You apply adaptive thinking strategically across team and client challenges, acting as a steadying influence to guide teams through complex circumstances with calm, focus, and clarity.
- Cross-Channel Fluency: You can speak to how other Paid Media channels contribute to meeting overall client goals. You lead decision-making when it comes to integrating Search with Social and Programmatic, compiling clear frameworks to bring clients on a growth journey.
- Ownership and accountability: You demonstrate accountability over the quality and performance of complex media accounts, acting as the definitive problem solver. You apply your technical expertise to resolve risks independently.
What will you be doing?
- Account Leadership: Assume full accountability for flagship client partnerships, navigating conflicting stakeholder priorities to secure long-term retention and investment.
- Performance Ownership: You will take full accountability for the commercial performance and trajectory of your portfolio. You are responsible for constructing detailed growth plans (12-month+), setting rigorous KPI frameworks, and tracking delivery against these targets to ensure we consistently drive commercial value and hold the team to account on results.
- Integrated Solutions: Work collaboratively with other channel owners (Paid Social, SEO, Programmatic) to produce cohesive and experimentation-led recommendations to improve performance across the Paid Media spectrum.
- Risk Management: Proactively identify "unspoken" risks or stagnation points in a client’s strategy, approaching them with pre-formulated solutions that require cross-service integration or technical innovation.
- New Business: Contribute to the new business phase, including understanding briefs, producing pitch materials, and presenting to prospects to win new business.
Technical Innovation & Thought Leadership
- Challenging the Status Quo: Proactively challenge existing methodologies and "best practices" to elevate the standard of strategic output. You will spearhead complex technical and data-led solutions or scalable testing frameworks that directly address high-level business objectives.
- Future-Proofing: Apply forward-thinking consistently to anticipate industry trends, platform changes, and emerging risks (e.g., Google Ads updates, Privacy Sandbox, AI development), using this foresight to shape strategies.
- Internal Thought Leadership: Showcase Impression’s prowess as an industry leader by transforming your innovative solutions into case studies or new service products, elevating the technical standard of the entire department.
Leadership & People
- Coaching & Development: Adopt a coaching-first mindset for your team, guiding them to solve complex problems independently rather than providing answers.
- Strategic Proofing: Provide high-level strategic proofing on complex accounts and hold the wider team to account on technical execution.
- Operational Support: Support the department with responsibilities including resourcing, recruitment, process improvement, and training.
Starting salary from: £50,900 (plus £6k for those living in the Greater London area)
What makes us different?
- Flexible, hybrid working options - as per ways of working charter
- 4.5 day working week
- Private medical insurance with access to EAP Impression funded specialist therapy sessions, up to 6 sessions where Impression funds 50% of the cost
- Enhanced sick pay
- Access to OpenUp, a virtual therapy platform
- Enhanced parental leave
- 28 days annual leave, plus bank holiday
- Life leave – when something unexpected happens in your life and you need some paid leave
- Pregnancy loss and parental bereavement leave
- Compassionate leave
- Eye-care vouchers
- Opportunity to save on and spread the cost of new tech through Techscheme
- Travel to work scheme
- Railcard salary sacrifice scheme
- Budget for books, tools and software
- A full social calendar
- Summer and Christmas party (off-site)
- Chance to attend national and international conferences
- Top Apple equipment to use at work
- Savings on bikes and accessories through Cyclescheme
- Contributory pension scheme
- The usual agency stuff – office dogs, drinks fridge, ping pong and foosball, tea and coffee and office snacks
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
We’re listening and we’re learning. We’re committed to embracing diversity and promoting equal opportunities, both within our teams and through the services we provide. But we know we still have work to do. Improving fairness – in our agency and our industry – is something we’re passionate about, and we’re committed to having the conversations, making the changes and helping other businesses to do the same. We pledge to promote equal opportunities and, as per the Equality Act 2010, will not tolerate discrimination on the grounds of: gender, gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, religion, age, disability, caring responsibilities or beliefs. We’ll also make every effort to represent different genders, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds and sexualities at the events, panels and discussions we run.
Agencies Strictly no recruitment agencies.
Associate Director, Paid Search / Paid Media employer: Impression
Contact Detail:
Impression Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Associate Director, Paid Search / Paid Media
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, and don’t be shy to reach out on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Showcase your expertise! Create a portfolio that highlights your best work in paid search and media. Use case studies to demonstrate how you've driven results for previous clients. This will not only impress potential employers but also give them a taste of what you can bring to their team.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and scenarios specific to paid media roles. Think about how you can articulate your strategic thinking and problem-solving skills. Remember, it’s all about showing how you can add value to their team!
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! We love seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in joining us at Impression Digital. Make sure to tailor your application to reflect our values and culture, and don’t forget to follow up after applying to show your enthusiasm!
We think you need these skills to ace Associate Director, Paid Search / Paid Media
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion: When writing your application, let your enthusiasm for digital marketing shine through! We want to see how excited you are about the role and how you can contribute to our team. Share your experiences and what drives you in this field.
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your application to match the job description. Highlight your relevant skills and experiences that align with what we're looking for in an Associate Director, Paid Search. This shows us you’ve done your homework and are genuinely interested.
Be Clear and Concise: Keep your application straightforward and to the point. We appreciate clarity, so avoid jargon and fluff. Use bullet points if necessary to make your achievements stand out. Remember, we want to see your impact!
Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it makes the process smoother for everyone involved.
How to prepare for a job interview at Impression
✨Know Your Stuff
Before the interview, dive deep into the latest trends in paid search and media. Familiarise yourself with Impression Digital's recent campaigns and successes. This will not only show your genuine interest but also help you speak their language during the interview.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As an Associate Director, you'll need to demonstrate your team leadership experience. Prepare examples of how you've inspired and guided teams through challenges. Highlight specific instances where your strategic thinking led to successful outcomes.
✨Be a Problem Solver
Impression values ownership and accountability. Think of complex problems you've solved in previous roles and be ready to discuss them. Frame your answers to show how you proactively identified risks and implemented innovative solutions.
✨Connect the Dots
Demonstrate your cross-channel fluency by discussing how different paid media channels work together. Prepare to explain how integrating search with social and programmatic can drive client growth, showcasing your ability to think holistically about client strategies.